Benicia joins forces with company for greater broadband access

BENICIA > > The city is inching ever closer to its goal of faster broadband service by joining with the Next Century Cities coalition, an initiative of towns and communities all working towards “next generation” internet access.

“It’s basically a networking organization,” said Mario Giuliani, Economic Development Manager for Benicia. “It helps cities upgrade by aiding us with new technologies, particularly broadband.”

Getting better internet access — especially in the Industrial Park — has been a goal for a long time. City leaders hope that with better broadband, more businesses will want to come and set up shop in town.

“It’ is extremely important as a city for us to be globally competitive when it comes to creating the best digital infrastructure for our many businesses,” said councilmember Mark Hughes in a written statement. “It’s also extremely important that we as a city use ... smart solutions [like] those being discussed at Next Century Cities.”

Almost 170 cities are networking with Next Century, according to Giuliani. The organization will work as an agent of sorts, connecting Benicia with investments and greater technological opportunities by “creating tools and a network to guide projects.”

The city council has been debating how to increase internet access in the Industrial Park and weighing its options for quite some time. Earlier this year a consultant was hired to explore the issue. Last year, Benicia had contracted with a company in an effort to solve its broadband problem, but when the CEO of the company — and driving visionary behind the project — passed away, the plan fizzled out.